Ney Ney's Nest

Thursday, June 29, 2017

PICTURE SMOCKING TUTORIAL PART 1 Blocking
Spring brings not only flowers outdoors, but a desire to sew and smock all kinds of cute clothing!
I'm re-posting my series on smocking tutorials since I have changed blogging platforms and many of my links take you to ......nothing!!! Now, you should be able to find the tutorials!!!!

Recently I have seen picture smocking on many facebook style auctions. You know the ones I'm talking about? Picture smocking requires "stacking" cable stitches to create a picture. Since I loved to color as a child (you may still catch me coloring) picture smocking affords me to "color" with thread.

Picture smocking can be done on bishops (around the neck and shoulders)

or an insert (inset) that is placed into a garment.

To begin, select one of many picture smocking "plates" (short for template) available from many designers, available online or from specialty sewing stores.

PICTURE REMOVED PER REQUEST OF SMOCKING DESIGNER

Then have your 100% cotton fabric pleated with the number of rows required for your intended project. I prefer the stability of broadcloth for picture smocking.

For my selection, I need 9 rows of gathering threads pleated. Always make sure you have a "holding row" at the top and bottom of your insert. Then you have the actual rows that make the picture smocking. This pattern has an "H" for holding on the very top row and the row 9 serves as the second "holding row".

PICTURE REMOVED PER REQUEST OF SMOCKING DESIGNER

"Blocking" your insert is required prior to smocking to insure the piece will fit into your garment correctly! You don't want to spend the time it takes to smock only to discover the insert has been squeezed tightly by your stitches and is too little to be sewn into your garment.:(

Next, scrunch all the pleats over to the left hand side (make sure there is a knot holding all the threads together) pulling on the top and bottom of the insert to "straighten" any puckers. Hold your steam iron over the insert and steam the pleats. DO NOT IRON THE PLEATS!!! Let this dry.

You need to make sure you're smocking on the "right" side of the insert. Since broadcloth is essentially the same on both sides this doesn't create a problem with the fabric. However, there is a "right" and "wrong" side to the pleating. In order to stitch into each pleat while smocking you want as much of the pleat to be above the gathering thread as possible. So....look at both sides of your insert. The stitches that are longest are on the wrong side. "Wrong is Long" Notice that on the pleats, there is little room to take a "bite" of fabric with your needle while smocking.

Notice here that the stitches are shorter and therefore, this is the "right" side. The pleats give you more room to take a stitch when pulled together.

After the insert is completely dry, you are ready to pull the gathering threads from the left side away from the fabric and snip off the knot.

I use the blocking board that can be purchased from Martha Pullen's website. When I first started smocking, however, I used a bulletin board that had been covered with muslin and a grid that had been covered with contact paper.

Make sure to line up the left edge of the fabric so that it is square. Secure with several pins.

Stretch the pleats out from the left side.

Measure the seam allowance. My particular garment pattern requires 1 3/4 inch seam allowance in order for the insert to fit into the clothing I'm planning on making. So I use a seam guide to find that width and notice which pleat lines up with that required 1 3/4 inch allowance.

Using a straight pin, (I've also used a seam ripper only to break my gathering threads so I don't suggest this method :( pull each row out gently along the same pleat all the way down the left side. It should look like this....

Now you will take 2 of the tails and tie and overhand knot.

Using your right hand on the right side of the fabric, gently pull the top two gathering threads through the fabric until the first knot is "seated" right against the left first pleat.

This is a properly "seated" knot. :) Continue all the way down the left side. If you have an odd number of rows (as I do in this particular design) just tie the last 3 together. (When I pleat my inserts, I use one color-pink in this case- for the top holding row, all the smocked rows are orange and the bottom holding row is blue to help me while picture smocking)

Now it is time to count the pleats. I use one color of (white) pins across the top of my insert and count out 10 pleats at a time and mark them with my pins.

Write this number down or put it into your handy cell phone calculator!

Look at your template to make sure you have enough pleats to cover the smocking design.

PICTURE REMOVED PER REQUEST OF SMOCKING DESIGNER

This particular design calls for a total of 162 pleats. I have more than enough to cover that! (I will use only the amount required since I'm making a small 6 mos size garment, if I make something bigger I like to leave extra pleats on each side to cover a larger chest area)

After dividing 162 pleats by 2 I get 81 which is the center of my smocking design. So now I recount the white pins by 10's until I get to 80 then add the 1 pleat and mark it with a blue pin. Take a safety pin and secure it on the center pleat.

Determine the width your insert needs to be by consulting the pattern. The pattern I'm using has a "blocking guide" to give me the width the insert needs to be to fit into the garment properly.

My project needs to be 12inches wide so I'll stretch out the right side of the insert on my board to the 12 inch mark. Make sure that the edges are square and pin into place.

Repeat the measuring process used with the left side to determine where to pull out your gathering threads so you can tie off the right side. Since my project requires 162 pleats total, I'm going to be sure I have 81 pleats from center to right side in order to have enough pleats for my design. Do the same for your required number of pleats, depending on which smocking template you selected. (As mentioned before, if you have extra on BOTH sides for a larger insert, it is ok unless it is too big for the blocking guide so refer to your pattern) Again, I will use the 1 3/4 " seam allowance called for in my pattern.

Repeat the process for pulling out the threads up to the pleat at the end of your measurement. Use a pin and go down the entire length of the pleat pulling out the gathering threads.
(see above pic like we did on the left side)

Now remove all the white pins across the top of the insert and mark the center pleat top and bottom with a water soluble fabric pen. Slide the pleats over gently using your fingernails or a wide toothed comb. (Be careful if you have colored nail polish on!) Put your marked center of the insert in the middle of your measurement. In my case 12 inches wide divided in half is 6, so I put my safety pinned center pleat on 6 inches.

Pin the insert at the top and bottom, making sure the center pleat is straight and squared. Continue to adjust the pleats from the left side to the center .

Now it is time to tie off the right side. I take a pin and secure it to the right side of the last pleat required for my design in between the first two gathering rows. On the right side I tie a square knot using the pin for leverage to make sure I get the knot "seated" securely on the right side of that last pleat.

Continue down the right side in two's, remembering to tie an odd number of rows by using the tail of the gathering row above it.

I promise we are almost through! Now give the gathering threads a "haircut" to about an inch within the knots on both sides.

The last step in the blocking process is to adjust the pleats with your fingernails getting them straight and no puckers, then spray starch the insert while it is still pinned to the board.

Let it dry completely and then you'll be ready to smock!
Join me on a Spring Smock-along ---Part 2 coming next!

Thursday, April 6, 2017

Be careful when posting pictures of someone elses' work, patterns, etc. Always check first before posting...

Not realizing I had violated Cross-Eyed Cricket's copyright, posts dealing with picture smocking had to be removed. I had used her "owls" smocking template to do a tutorial . Although she praised the tutorial itself, she wasn't happy about using her template in my pictures and using the name even though I gave credit where credit was due. Based on what I had read, I thought posting the article was done correctly. She asked that in the future I got permission. Rather than address the issue with a claim to Pinterest, she contacted me directly. Although her email was polite, I felt like a child that had their hand slapped for wrong-doing, and removed the post.

A web article from Baylor University says, "Fair use allows limited use of copyrighted material without permission from the copyright holder for purposes such as criticism, parody, news reporting, research and scholarship, and teaching. There are four factors to consider when determining whether your use is a fair one.

The four fair use factors are as follows:

The purpose and character of the use, including whether the use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;

The nature of the copyrighted work, such as whether the work is fiction or non-fiction, published or unpublished;

The amount of the work used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole, such as using a poem in its entirety, or using one chapter from a long book;

Friday, March 25, 2016

So, I'm branching out and going to attempt "designs" in my next quilting project rather than "stitching in the ditch". I'm using a domestic machine so let's hope I don't pull what little hair I have out in the creative process!

I have recently taken my Scan and Cut out of the box in the closet ( where it has been for nearly a year) and decided to learn to use it in my quilting. In my quick attempt to get my stencil done prior to leaving town and carrying all my supplies with me, I didn't take pictures of the process itself, but if there is interest, perhaps a tutorial later?

I found poster board sized plastic sheets at my local Hobby Lobby while getting regular poster board and wondered if I could cut my own stencils.....by George I did!

A few words of advice:
1. Use a sharpie to make your lines thick enough for the scanner to read.
2. Make large dashed lines to keep the design in one piece.
3. A little trimming may be necessary.
4. Registration marks will need to be added.

I was able to mark my quilt, starting from the corners and working my way in to adapt the "meeting in the middle" design to fit my size borders.

Hopefully when I return home, I'll be able to begin quilting!
What methods do you use to transfer quilting designs?
Do you have any favorite quilting stencils?
Where do you get them?

I just used my machine blanket stitch for my vase and stitched the flowers in a rather scrappy way. May re-do this block later and attempt hand appliqué since I have two of her books and handwork appeals to me but I was on a roll with the machine and didn't quit.

Even though my block doesn't quite please me, I'm happy with it. It's all about attitude. Happiness is a state of mind!

Thursday, March 17, 2016

Life is SPLENDID! This block reminded me of all the love shown to me from family and friends these past 5 years...I've learned a lot about nurturing, sharing, caring and giving your time to help someone else in need.

I'll have to say, I was surprised at how difficult this block really was. Ripping, starting over, having warped fabric from ripping and sewing again, then finally cutting new fabrics for 3 more little heart blocks. I was pleasantly surprised with the directional fabrics and how well they matched at the seams. Wonkiness overcome!!!

With my SPLENDID life comparison, it reminds me of how much I have learned about loving others. Sometimes love is awkward and frustrating, but turns out so beautiful! I no longer feel awkward visiting someone in the hospital, saying hello to a stranger with a deftly tied scarf and no eyebrows and the time taken from my day to make the visit or cook a meal is so rewarding!

Wednesday, March 16, 2016

I'm working on the Splendid Sampler as much as life allows...that is the SPLENDID thing about quilting...it is always right where I left it when I return.

This block came all the way from Australia from Jane Davidson, the other co-creater of The Splendid Sampler, along with Pat Sloan.

My block taught me perseverance....also something needed in life. I see the little pieces and how they need to line up "just so" in order to create the "wings" for the butterflies. Did you know that the metamorphosis timeframe is 10-15 days for most butterflies? I didn't feel quite so bad about how long it took me to get this block to my liking. Sometimes things don't go exactly as planned, but that's life....A SPLENDID life!

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Life isn't always splendid, just like a quilt...some of the blocks are easy to do, a few require rethinking and restitching, and then there are those that need to be left alone and revisited with a fresh perspective.

This sampler reminds me of my life the past few years. A sampling of different experiences, trials and successes. New acquaintances, renewed friendships, change and acceptance, learning new things or reinventing more familiar, or just enjoying the colors life brings.

The Splendid Sampler is a quilt along brainchild of Pat Sloan and Jane Davidson. It is " a year long 100 block ‘Epic Adventure’ of quilt making". Just like life...an "epic adventure"! Every Sunday and Thursday morning, PDF downloads of blocks created by 83 different designers are released.CLICK HERE for the link to The Splendid Sampler web page.

I'm behind on my blocks, but that is ok. Life happens and as long as I get to sew a little each day I'm just "SPLENDID"!

"Hearts Aflutter" is the first block of the quilt designed by Pat Sloan.

I am using fat quarters and scraps left over from "Modern Love" by Moda. Originally the fabrics were selected for use in a 50th Anniversary Quilt for my mother and father-in-law.

This block features appliqué (I chose to do mine on the machine with a blanket stitch) and piecing with diagonals. A great way to get started!!

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About Me

I'm a Christian, a wife, a mother, and a friend to many! Although my nest is empty, I continue to spend time with my grown children(sometimes that involves hunting at other times shopping and always cooking), and spend spare time quilting, smocking and sewing heirloom clothing. Most mornings you'll find me with a cup of coffee studying my Bible and planning a lesson for children's Bible class or a Ladies' Day speech or class. As a breast cancer survivor, I volunteer time for breast health advocacy and sew supplies for breast cancer patients. My nest is empty but I keep my days are full!